Page 100 of Take My Heart
They leave without even saying goodbye.
I shut the door as tears steam down my face. ‘Why are they like this?’
Brody pulls me into his arms. ‘I don’t know. But I’m sorry.’
‘I can’t live with them. I’d rather be homeless.’
‘You can live here, in Haydon Falls. Rent’s a lot cheaper than Chicago.’
‘I don’t have a job here.’
He pulls away. ‘Go get ready. We’re going out.’
‘Out? Where?’
‘I’m taking you to dinner.’
‘We just had pizza.’
‘That’s not dinner. That was a snack. But if you don’t want dinner, you can order dessert. And then we’ll go to a bar, get a drink.’
I smile a little. ‘This kind of sounds like a date.’
He shrugs. ‘Maybe it is.’
‘You’re taking me on a date?’
‘Call it whatever you want. We just need to get out of here. We’ve been stuck in this house all week. We need to go have some fun.’
‘You haven’t had fun this week?’
‘We need a different kind of fun.’ He points to the hall. ‘Go. Get ready.’
‘I need to shower first. I’m covered in paint.’ I smile at Brody. ‘You’re a mess too. Would you maybe want to join me? It’d save time.’
Of course, his answer is yes. After we clean up, he takes meto a restaurant downtown, then we go to a dive bar that plays country music and has an area where people can dance. Brody makes me line dance, which I’ve never done. I’m terrible at it, but it keeps my mind off my parents and what happened tonight.
I’m going to be broke for not doing what my parents wanted. But it’s worth it to have my freedom. And another week with Brody.
Chapter 19
Brody
Only one more week and Kate will be gone, back living in Chicago, back to her old life. I don’t want her to go, but I can’t tell her to stay. Her life is in Chicago. She has a job, friends, her sister, her parents.
I can’t stand her parents. I’m an easygoing guy. I like most everyone, but Kate’s parents just aren’t good people. Maybe I shouldn’t say that since I don’t actually know them, but seeing how they treated Kate when they showed up here last night, knowing how they made her feel, I really don’t like them.
‘What do you think?’ Kate asks as I go into the room she just painted. It’s the room that was supposed to be hers, but then she ended up staying in mine every night. I’m going to miss having her next to me in bed. I’ll miss having meals with her, watching TV with her, talking to her. I’m going to miss her so damn much.
‘It looks great,’ I say, looking at the grayish-green color on the walls. It’s the same color we used in the other bedroom. Asophisticated neutral, Kate called it. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but it grew on me after a day or so, just like Kate’s grown on me.
When I first met her, I never would’ve even considered going on a date with her, but now, after spending all this time with her, I could see us not only dating but being in a serious relationship. But that’s never going to happen. I need to accept that and find a way to forget about her after she leaves, and forget about these weeks we spent together.
Yeah, like that’s going to happen. I’ll never forget Kate and what she’s done for me, not just with the house, but how she’s changed me. I feel like an adult now, like I actually want to get my shit together and be a man. Before I met her, I was living like a kid, not being responsible, not caring if shit got done. I told myself I was just easygoing, someone who didn’t worry about stuff, but the truth is I was putting off being an adult. A man. Someone worthy of a girl like Kate.
‘I’m going to work on our room—I meanyourroom—next,’ Kate says.
‘It’s late. Let’s quit for the day.’
